SC examines divorced Muslim women’s right to maintenance under Section 125 of the CrPC

Syllabus: GS-I

Subject: Society and Social Justice

Topic: laws and institutions related to Women

Issue: Claim of maintenance by Muslim Women

Supreme Court is examining a petition regarding right to claim maintenance by Muslim Women under Section 125 of CrPC:

• Section 125 of the CrPC allows destitute wives, children, and parents to claim maintenance if neglected by a person with sufficient means.
• The definition of “wife” under Section 125 includes divorced women, irrespective of religion, who have not remarried.
• Many states have amended Section 125 to impose a ceiling on maintenance.
• The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, provides maintenance to divorced Muslim women during iddat period, based on mahr.

Related Judgements:

• The Danial Latifi v. Union Of India (2001) case upheld the constitutionality of the 1986 Act, extending maintenance till remarriage.
• In 2009, the Supreme Court affirmed a divorced Muslim woman’s right to maintenance under Section 125 of the CrPC even after iddat.
• In 2019, the Patna High Court ruled that divorced Muslim women can seek maintenance under both CrPC and the 1986 Act.
• In Noushad Flourish v. Akhila Noushad (2023), the Kerala High Court ruled that a Muslim wife who divorces via khula (divorce at the instance of, and with the consent of the wife) could not claim maintenance under Section 125 of the CrPC.

In the current case the petitioner contended that the provisions of the 1986 Act, being a special law, would prevail over Section 125 of the CrPC